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The end?
The trial﻿ After weeks of investigation, the time had finally come to attend the trial of Alexander Roby. Should he be released?Dr. Highsmith continued to think he should, but following a call from Gregory Roby, Leonid was having second thoughts. He and his companions made sure to dodge the good doctor before the trial, lest he learn of their plans. On the train ride to Hereford, Betty read a second letter from her "friend," W. Gresty, thanking her for the "murder" of Bacon and rambling about something he must return home to in the West Country. He also suggested that Edwards needed Roby and if he got his hands on him, there would be "hell to pay." Edwards would call on him too, he said, but he would not answer. The trial began with the honourable Judge Flopwig presiding. During the trial he heard evidence presented by Alexander's family urging for the government to retain him in his asylum holding. Dr. Highsmith argued that he felt otherwise, claiming that Alexander was healthy enough to be returned to society in a care home. He suggested a particular facility in Kent. Breaking with regulation, Leonid stood and interrupted the proceedings. It took some clever wordplay for the judge to allow him to speak, but when he did so, he recommended against Alexander's release. Dr. Highsmith was shocked and offended, but seemed agreeable to the suggestion since he no longer had much scientific backing for his claims. The judge ultimately ruled that Alexander should remain at St. Agnes and the investigators felt as if they had achieved something positive, despite the strange happenings of the past few weeks. They had made, what appeared to be, the right decision. They headed home on the train and attempted to return to their normal lives. Alexander's 'death' But it seemed as if the strange happenings surrounding Alexander were not done with them yet, as just days later, a newspaper published a most heinous report: Alexander Roby, was dead. He had been murdered by fellow inmate at St. Agnes, Lucius Harriwell, according to police, with his face brutalised beyond recognition. Nurses Thomas Clarke and Mark Evans were also missing and wanted by police for information on the killing. After contacting Dr. Highsmith, the investigators were asked to not get involved for a few days so as not to bring more attention on St. Agnes asylum. Instead of waiting out that time, they visited a Kent-based care home that Alexander was supposed to be sent to had he been released. There they observed a well-staffed facility with much more comfortable accommodation than St. Agnes. Shown around by nurse James, they would eventually discover that he was in-fact a patient. A doctor promised to show them around some other time with Betty's "sick aunt" if they so wished. No new information on Alexander was discovered. After paying a surprise visit to Dr. Highsmith the following day, the group learned of fantastical and disturbing developments in the case. Graham Roby had proven that the dead man was not his brother afterall, due to a missing scar on his upper arm that he earned as a child. The body was now believed to be that of missing nurse, Thomas Clarke. Police were still convinced that Lucius Harriwell was involved in the murder, but were now interested in finding Evans and Roby in what they believed may be a case of kidnapping. Dr. Highsmith was particularly concerned how Alexander might fare without his medication. After convincing the watchful police officer to allow the investigators to look into Alexander's cell, the group found blood stains and splatters which suggested in their amount and location, that two parties had been wounded in the attack. A blood trail then lead to Lucius Harriwell's room. Interviewing the once-again straight-jacketed individual, they discovered he was emotionally scarred from the incident. He again claimed to have interacted with the "devil," and interchanged the words "blades" and "hands" freely. He claimed that he'd seen the devil regularly and that on the fateful night of the attack, had heard screams from the cell next door, followed by the devil throwing one of his hands on Lucius' floor. After threatening the man not to tell anyone of these events, the devil had said of Alexander, "seven days for his work, then five days for mine." Lucius also talked of overhearing Alexander once more discussing his dreams of Carcosa, Queen Cassilda, lake Hali, the twin suns, and the great unspeakable one. The unnameable. The one whom the devil wants to bring forth. "Alexander dreams and what he dreams... becomes true." The flight north Dr. Highsmith then granted the investigators access to Nurse Mark Evans' home in nearby Leominster. There they discovered that the home had been gutted, with no furniture or personal items to be found. The upstairs bathroom had a spongy floor that had been saturated with blood. The walls had been cleaned but there was no removing the sodden floor which had been weakened by what Leonid imagined could be gallons of blood to soak it to such an extent. Elouise was downstairs during this discovery, but made one of her own: two letters. One was addressed to Mark Evans; An invoice from the London-based, Nanjing Tailor, which had repaired his uniforms' cut damage. The second was for Montague Edwards, from the British Museum, that requested a new membership fee payment before the end of the year to extend his reader's ticket through 1929. The investigators followed up on these leads, visiting both the tailor and the Museum. Neither proved to be too enlightening in their own right, with a severe dead end when attempting to retrace Edwards' footsteps at the museum, but impersonating him at the tailor proved effective. In the uniforms that they retrieved under that pretense, they discovered a business card for a haulage company named Turner Transport with the phone number circled by, presumably, Evans himself. Upon contacting the company Grace first attempted to track down the goods and furniture hauled from Evans' home in Leominster but came up short when it was discovered that it was all taken to a local landfill. However, she was able to talk the person on the end of the phone into giving details about a previous job the haulage firm had had involving the stone columns. It turns out they had taken them to the estate of a Scottish Laird/Lord. They were instructed to deliver the stones to Inverness, where a local firm would take over the job. They weren't aware of the name of the company. Aware of potential time constraints hinted at by Lucius Harriwell, the investigators caught the train to Inverness the next morning, though faced delays due to weather. They were ultimately held overnight just outside of Manchester while the tracks were cleared, and forced to bunk up with an additional passenger to conserve warmth. Their new companion, Henry Lister, proved shy and nervous to begin with and fiddled with something around his neck. It was later discovered to be a black necklace depicting one of the strange winged creatures that had attacked Leonid and the tractor back in Claire Melford. It was a near identical copy of the one the group now possessed. Through a combination of vodka and persuasion, the group convinced Lister that they were cultists too and he showed great relief, believing himself to be the only one "late" for the ceremony. He was supposed to have been at the lake days before, but had been delayed. He appeared scared of Edwards, but in particular Coombs and Bacon, suggesting that he'd seen something which made him critically aware of his own mortality. That night they all dreamed the same strange dreams as before. Even Leonid experienced one, but he kept its strange premonitions from the others. Picking up the journey the next day, Lister stayed with the group, although he grew less talkative and more agitated by the hour. Elouise finally finished her reading of the Turner Codex, learning much about the strange bell they had discovered in Bacon's bedroom. It was, the tome claimed, the Chime of Tetzchaptl. A device capable of absorbing and releasing the power of a vocal enchantment, be it spoken, song, or performance. It also contained the notes for a spell on a summoning of a great being, known as Hastur, Kawai, and The Great Unspoken One. A walk in the woods Later that day, they arrived in a bitterly cold Inverness and managed to acquire a map of the local area in short order, suggesting they were a few hours away from Lake Mullardoch. Henry offered to fetch food for the group, but after some time, he never rematerialized. The group made to a local pub to look for him, but with no sign of him, they acquired directions to a nearby garage which may have cars for hire. Angus McKay did have two cars, in fact, but they had been hired for the day already and wouldn't be returned until the following morning. Attempts at bribery of him and his young assistant proved fruitless, so the investigators resolved to catch a taxi instead. The going was tough, but the driver made it to Cannach, the other side of a wood from Loch Mullardoch. There, the group acquired lodgings for the night should they need them, but after only a brisk stop at a local store for hiking supplies, they made into the woods, down a dirt track. A couple of miles into the journey, the track split in two, one leading off into the trees. Deciding to ignore it, they pressed on, and were presented by a horrible apparition. A pale, fetid, bulbous mass pulled itself through the air above them on long, ichor-dripping tentacles. It ignored them, but rattled their minds, driving Eloise to a moment of madness where she was convinced the others would abandon her. Betty let our an ear piercing shriek and could not be calmed for minutes. After gathering themselves in the gloom, the investigators pressed on down the track, only stopping briefly to watch that same creature suctioning something ethereal from a monolith planted down another branching track. After many hours of walking, they reached Loch Mullardoch itself, its black, cold surface stretching into the distance, only to be stopped by the mountains that contain it on either bank. A thick fog obscures the nearby waterline and reaches ghostly tendrils of vapour to the hunting lodge-like house. As the group made to walk through it, the fog rose swiftly around them, obscuring everything from view. And when it retreated, they were surrounded by an ancient, confounding city. Leonid knew it only too well from his dream with Alexander Roby. They had come to Carcosa.